December 31st At The GOMH & More

 

Platte Lake Access

Eddy's Jetty

Zoomed Out

I went for a drive on the final day of the year. There were maybe 5 fish houses on Long. About a dozen people on Bulldog fishing. Rock Lake didn't have a house on it, and there were no vehicles in the lot or out on the ice, as far as I could see I didn't get out of the car. Platte had a smattering of houses out and a couple of small bunches. On Sullivan, they seemed to be spread out. Same thing on Shakopee with maybe a dozen or so vehicles. On Mille Lacs there were maybe 20 shacks out to the South out of Randy's and a small cluster of Eddy's Houses to the North.

Goodbye 2024.

My Final Fish of 2024 (11/09/24)

24.75" Jerk Shad (Chart Shad)

 

It turns out that this trip to the jetty on November 9th produced my final fish for 2024. Fall fishing pretty much sucked, and I didn't get out in the Trophy the final week I had it in the water, even though there were a couple of decent days I could have. My mind was distracted by the election and my upcoming hip surgery on the 19th. The 2024 Fishing Season was really good for big silver bullheads and that was about it. Not sure when I will get out fishing again, as I don't wnt to take any chance of injuring my new hip.

5/11/24, MN Fishing Opener at Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs

 

Setting the scene

 

Northern Lights Looking towards Indian Point

Northern Lights Looking South from our place when I got home

1st Fish of the 24 Season

5th Eye of the night

12:00-2:45AM Eddy's Jetty Mille Lacs Lake

43℉, Clear Sky w/ Northern Lights, 1-3mph W light ripple

I arrived at the Jetty around 11:30PM. The Northern Lights had a lot of watchers on the frontage road, but nobody came to fish the Jetty. There was a light ripple on the water. I started with a Minnesota Rig for my first 5 casts. Not a solid plan. After a fishless first 10 minutes, I switched to a Grass Pig and had a fish pull it halfway off the jig on the first cast. I may have missed another bite about 10 minutes later. I spent 45 minutes in the North Corner before giving the Harbor Mouth a try. 

At about 1 am, the Northern Lights got much brighter over the lake, and a baitfish got blasted just to the S of the Center Standing Rock. I quickly made my way to that spot. I turned on my headlamp and saw the fish, so I turned the headlamp off. I then cast about 20' past, where I saw the fish with the Jerk Shad, and it hit on the very first cast, bazinga! It was about 18." I caught 3 more at the Center Standing Rock in the next 20 minutes. I got my final bite of the night at the Old North Corner Standing Spot on the Jerk Shad. I foolishly decided 5 fish was enough and started trying other things. A couple other guys showed up with a boat at 2 am. The guy that went to Center Jetty got a fish quickly. His buddy showed up about 15 minutes later and caught a walleye as I was packing up. He was fishing off the N Harbor Mouth. The NL were really bright from W to E in the southern sky as I made my way home. I took a picture when I got home. Successful opening trip.

5Eyes 

Last Open Water Fish of 2023

 

 9:30-11:40PM Eddy's Jetty 

41-56℉, Clear, 1-3mph SW

4' of visibility

A slight ripple on the water, but no wave action to speak of. Eyeballs would follow my lure, but not hit. Only got the one-biter and two bumps; one at Pete's and one at the N Corner on my first cast with a Jerk Shad There was a boat or two at Indian Point. Spotted at least 6 different sets of eyeballs either at the North Corner or N Harbor Mouth.

1Eye 

2022 MN Fishing Opener With Todd In the Evening

 

 Skunked (Some natives were fishing at the North Jetty when I arrived at 11:30PM and not getting anything. One small eye was swimming around and a boat was out bobber fishing and I think getting fish. I quickly bailed on the North Jetty for the South as some guys with a boat set up on Center Jetty. A little bit of activity on South, but nothing close in so I could track with the fish. I texted Brett and he told me they hammered 'em at the GOMH. I bailed at 2:15 am. I stopped at Kathio Bridge and listened to loons calling.) 

GOMH:

Skunked (Nobody was there when I arrived just after 4AM. Put on the rubbers and headed down on the NE side. WHG showed up as I was getting settled. There was a lot of baitfish activity, but I couldn't buy a bite. Made the executive decision to head to the Trophy at 4:30 AM)

First Legal Bass of 2022 Mini-Max (Fire Craw)

Big Bass of the Day at the GOMH

(Skies looked dark but I sent it anyway. Hit something as I was steaming toward the small Island. The motor sputtered but didn't lose much speed. Got to the River Mouth; first and only boat. Got a 10" on the Mini-Max. Started getting some fish on the SBKO. As the front approached I missed 7 or 8 bites. The front passed only raining for a couple of minutes. Got fish on jerks, chatters, craw tubes, paddletails. Seems like I would get a couple of fish then need to switch up. Wasn't real efficient with my business. The sun came out and wind came up out of the South. I made my way across the SPRO, but it was really blowing so I called it a morning.)

20Bass 3Pike 

 (Stopped at the GOMH on my way home. Nobody was there so I headed down with 3 rods. Craw tube got bit off before I could catch anything on it. Had multiple hits on the the craw, Grass Pig, and a couple of Chatters. Fish just not getting it good today. Had a lot of misses in the boat. Got my biggest of the morning in the Pirahana 2, but left the scale at the lake. Mother nature called so I bounced.)

3 Jump

(4 Rods with me, 5 casts per rod on the SW side with a few bonus casts resulted in 7 jumpers before I headed to the lake place as Todd was finishing up with the dock decking.)

7Jump 

Todd's first bass of 2022, 1st fish was a pike

 (Todd started off on fire at the River Mouth. I talked to Chuck Steinbauer who is coming down to fish P/S tomorrow. We worked our way East into Platte. Nothing was going on in CIB other than at the dock just beyond the Abrahamson's where Todd got a 3lber. So I jumped us back to the river mouth after nothing at the juice. We got a few more bass. Good trip. Todd was headed home before I was done loading the boat.)

Todd: 15Bass 1Pike, Me:12 Bass

Todd: 15Bass 1Pike

Me: 42 Bass 3 Pike

Total Fish: 57 Bass 4 Pike

Final Open Water Fish of 2021

 

16.5" Jerk Shad (Tomato)

This trip was it for open water in 2021. Saw one walleye and I caught it. Low water made for terrible fishing at Mille Lacs this Fall.

Steve And I Hit the Jetty Tonight

22" Jerk Shad

21" Jerk Shad

21.5" Jerk Shad

18.5" Jerk Shad (Crackle)

I thought with the SE wind today things would be good at the Jetty. Steve was into it so off we went. Arrive at the Jetty, no wind no waves. I predicted it probably wouldn't be good until after 9PM and I was right. Steve got the first fish around 9:20PM and it was a 21.5" keeper. He would get two more, both in the keeper slot. I put on a crackle Jerk Shad with 3 minutes to go in the night and hooked into my only fish of the night on the first cast. I had Steve throwing the Ghost Shad Jerk Shad the whole time. Steve was fishing off of the Center Standing Rock. A native guy to the North of me at the North Corner got 4 fish as well. Steve lost a good one right before 10PM.

Top Fishing Memories of 2020

The highlight of fishing in 2020 was having a successful day on Platte/Sullivan with my old bass Spike and his best bud Smitty.

The rest are in no particular order.

Fishing with Kane and Todd.

Fishing with Todd. We fished a lot together this year and seemed to always have successful trips including the best day for bass fishing of the year.

Fishing with Jaimen especially the day the morning we whacked at the Intersection Juice.

Struggling to get Steve and Brett on some fish.

The 5lber at Double Cane followed by a 4 and then the aircraft engine duck hunter showed up and shut 'em down.

Breaking the Talula Frog Rod on a dink that had me hung in the pads at the Snatcher's Rush Lake Tournament. I let the adrenaline get the best of me and put way too much pressure on the rod. Thank God I was able to find two more on eBay this Fall.

Catching crappies on F Flat in the Spring before the motor issues began. It wouldn't have been 2020 without multiple trips to Marine Mechanics and days lost to motor issues.

And then there was getting kicked off of Eddy's Jetty by Security on Opener, which made me finally get over to Mac's Twin Bay where I caught a piggy. 

And this Fall fishing at the Jetty with Jamar and his family.

 

No Fish At The Jetty Tonight

Ice has come to Mille Lacs. I think it was locked up last night.  I didn't test the ice, but somebody had thrown a big rock out at the North Corner.  Open Water Season for me officially ended Nov. 28th. Not bad.
 

Last Trip In Open Water 2020, Maybe??

I started fishing around 7:30PM. I spotted a moving eyeball when I got up on Pete's Standing Rock. I made several casts to the area. On about the 6th one I caught sight of the eye's obviously tracking to my Tomato Jerk Sahd. I just let the Jerk Shad sit and yanked when I thought it grabbed the lure, which it did. I was glad to have the skunk gone. I wasn't really enjoying myself in the cold and the fish weren't biting so about an hour in I said to myself, next fish in hand and I'm leaving. I was fishing the North Corner just about to go back to the Harbor Mouth and give the Rage Swimmer Jr. a try when the 26-incher grabbed my Sexy Shad Jerk Shad. After releasing the fish I indeed had enough and quit fishing. Will this be my last open water trip of 2020? Not sure, all I know is that I really didn't enjoy the last couple of trips very much. The thought of grinding out walleyes in the bitter cold with freezing hands is losing its luster.

Will Mille Lacs Still Be Open Dec.1st?

I don't think I'll be able to fish at Eddy's on December 1st, but there is a chance. This forecast might actually turn out to be on the cool side of the temps we actually get.
 

Halloween 2020

 

Pictures from Today